“It’s rare that you can hang out in an environment that’s fun and productive. That’s what makes Web Summit special.”

Posted July 20, 2016. By Eoghan McNeill

Sometimes, special things happen at Web Summit. Things like Uber raising their first major round after a pint on one of our Pub Crawls. At Web Summit last year, a meeting between two of our speakers, one of whom happened to be Tinder CEO Sean Rad, led to Tinder acquiring young startup Humin.

Sean and Ankur were acquaintances, and decided to meet up at one of our special networking events on Web Summit Day Three. They “geeked out over a cup of tea”, as Ankur has said, and the first steps towards the deal were taken.

Sean Rad on Web Summit Centre Stage

“It’s that rare combination that makes Web Summit special”

Ankur and Sean talked about how they could work together, discussing a range of possibilities from partnerships to joint ventures. They then realised a Tinder acquisition of Humin was the right deal for both of them.

“What’s great about Web Summit is that it’s such an energetic, exciting place with so much happening. It’s like there’s a natural energy to the event that encourages collaboration. Whether you’re meeting new people or catching up with old friends, the natural instinct is to ask yourself, ‘What can we do together?’” says Ankur.

Twenty-six-year-old Ankur has since started in his new role as VP of Product at Tinder, a position he’s already loving. “It’s very exciting. Working on a product that has completely transformed global culture, with one of your friends, is amazing,” he says.

We’re delighted that Web Summit, and the environment we try to create at our events, played a small part in the deal.

“It’s like going on vacation with 30-40 of your best friends from the industry, and then getting a chance to meet a group of new inspiring people. It’s very rare that you can get everyone of that calibre to hang out in an environment that’s fun and productive. It’s that rare combination that makes Web Summit special,” says Ankur.

Join us at Web Summit 2017

Web Summit is now hosting 21 independent conferences under one roof. Be there.